Back Just In Time For The Future
by IsomorphicTARDIS
Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester were never big fans of Time Travel, whether it was in novels or children's books or by the hands of an angel. So when Sam is thrown back in time to revisit their childhood, and Dean is stuck with a younger, revenge-bent version of John, their view of Time Travel isn't skewered that much. But it still leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Set between 7x02 - 7x03.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay, third fic! And first in the Supernatural fandom - tell me what you think, read it, review it, and take some virtual cookies! *passes them out* R&R!**

'It was supposed to be easy.'

At least, that's what they thought as the Winchester brothers gazed down on the bones of some poor soul who had come back as a ghost, for some revenge on a group of poker players that had beat him. And not just at poker.

Dean would have felt bad for banishing the vengeful spirit – the victims sure deserved what they got – but his father's words echoed in his head as he nodded to Sam and looked up towards the night sky. "_Everything supernatural is evil, Dean,_" his father had said. "_And yeah, some of these punks deserve what comes to them. But we've got to be above them, and protect them and everyone else. Y'hear me?_" Dean had just nodded, proceeding to clean his knife, fingering his necklace absently as he pondered his father's words.

Dean shook his head. They were on a hunt, doing a job. They had a body to salt and burn.

Dean glanced over at Sam before administering the salt and kerosene to the decomposed body, sighing internally at the slightly sick look on his little brother's white face. Not wanting to hazard any kind of accident, Dean took the matches from Sam's pale fingers and flicked a match across the rough surface of the matchbox.

Staring at the flame for a moment, Dean's eyes narrowed as he saw the blinding contrast between the bright flame and his little brother's drawn, pallid face.

Shooting Sam a half-concerned look, he threw the match down on the bones, lighting them aflame and sending the ghost to move on. The cracks and snaps of the licking flames were the only shield from the silence that threatened to cover them, like a threatening thunderstorm. Sam slowly shifted to his brother's side, relaxing minutely as Dean draped an arm over his shoulders and pulled him closer.

And Dean ignored the consequent shiver, the ultimate frosty warmth emanating from Sam as he tried to crawl closer to the heat his brother provided beneath his coat. And the clouds drifted closer and closer as the moon slunk behind them, rendering their vision dark.

Because the stars weren't out that night.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me, Sammy," Dean said, pouring some of his beer across Sam's hand. Idiot had gotten his hand singed as he was making them some dinner – some of Bobby's famous chili. Dean thought it was fitting; no one could make chili like Bobby and come out unharmed.

Sam just shrugged. "At least it was just my hand," he said, in a would-be-optimistic tone.

"How you even managed to…" Dean trailed off, giving a small chuckle afterwards. "But I've got to give you credit, brother, that was one badass leap you did back there."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean, it was everywhere. What was I supposed to do, float up onto the counter and hope it wouldn't get on me?"

Dean gave a laugh at that. "Of course, Sam. Though, it's your fault it spilled anyway."

"Maybe, but it's your fault it went everywhere," Sam retorted, a laugh sounding beneath his breath. He glanced at the mess in the kitchen and winced; Bobby was going to have a fit when he came back from his current hunt. The food had gone everywhere, and Sam was sure Bobby wouldn't appreciate the mural of hot chili dripping off his walls.

Dean gave him an offended look, purposefully wrapping the bandage tighter than necessary around Sam's hand. "I was just protecting myself," he said in an even tone.

Sam heaved a laugh there. "Yeah, Dean, I'm sure. I mean, what else is a bowl of chili going to do but attack you with its monstrous _vegetables_," Sam mocked, shooing Dean away when he proceeded to worry over the burn.

Sam just scoffed, looking up at his older brother. "Y'know, Dean, I can take care of myself. You don't have to look after me all the time."

"Well, I might have to, considering you can't even fill up a bowl of chili correctly," Dean retorted, a smile beginning to stretch and crease his face.

"Considering you tried to kill said bowl of chili?" Sam laughed, while Dean just shook his head, putting away the bandages in their bags.

"So, where was it you said we were going?" Dean asked, coming back up to where Sam was now perched at the table with his laptop and two bandaged hands.

"Uh, Boise, Idaho, apparently," Sam said, looking up and saying, "yesterday, a whole family disappeared. Like, they were having a family reunion, and they all just vanished."

"All at once?" Dean's shocked voice echoed through Bobby's house as he walked over to the staircase.

"Yep. All at once. And – get this – they were all a year apart by age."

Dean paused at the bottom of the steps. "What?"

"Yeah," Sam scoffed. "Talk about weird. Think you're up for it?"

Dean snorted. "As long as I'm not hunting food products," he grumbled, starting up the steps. Sam smirked triumphantly. "Worried they'll be wanting revenge on their brother?" he called up the steps.

"Shut up," echoed down through the house, and Sam smiled, closing the laptop and packing up his things.

He didn't even spare a glance to a disgruntled Lucifer cleaning a poker in the corner.

**Aww, Sammy's too occupied to deal with Hallucifer...don't worry though, he'll come back.**

**Anyway, be sure to tell me what you thought, by filling out that review box just under here. **

**Made you smile? ****Made you laugh? ****Made you cringe? ****Made you cry? (That's more like it)**

**Let me know! The Time Travel should be coming up, next chapter, if not the one after that. R&R!**

** ~IsomorphicTARDIS**


	2. Chapter 2

**Why is it that these never seem to turn out like I need them too? Oh, well, here's the next chapter! **

**R&R!**

It was supposed to be civil, their conversation.

"_Y'know, John, one day, you're gonna learn that huntin' is no job for a kid!_" Bobby yelled over the phone, and Dean heard one last "_Damn it,"_ before the line was cut. John sighed, flipping the phone shut and scrubbing a hand down his face.

"Maybe we can just find a motel to stay in, and then patch Sammy up," Dean suggested, but gave into the silence when he caught his father's gaze.

They continued to Bobby's salvage yard, _Asia_ distracting them from an uncomfortable blanket of complete silence.

And as Dean coaxed Sam's head onto his lap with sweet nothings, only one thought managed to break through the myriad of emotions flowing through him – _No._ _Nothing shone in their eyes. Not anymore. Not even the Heat of the Moment._

And Dean ignored the flip his stomach did at that thought, trying not to dwell on what was really in their eyes.

Because there was no light shining in their eyes that night.

* * *

"…Idjits," Bobby muttered, pondering any and all supernatural causes for the boys' skittish behavior, and why they practically ran from the house to go on a hunt, looking a lot like a teenager who just egged their neighbor's house.

That's when he stepped into the kitchen, closing his eyes and groaning as he lifted his boot, resulting in a squelching noise as it was separated from the half-dried chili.

"Balls!"

They fled – knowing from experience, that an irritated Bobby was a Bobby best left alone. And this time, Bobby was probably a little more than irritated.

"Boys!"

Dean shared a quick, startled glance with Sam before clambering into the Impala, shutting the door with a force that should've bolted the it to the car. Sam shut the door with equal force, glaring at Dean, saying, "Drive. Now."

Dean replied with a short, "You think?" and quickly put the car in reverse, speeding out of the salvage yard, Sam on the look out for any enraged Bobby.

Once they were onto the highway – "free territory," as Dean called it – Sam finally relaxed, pulling out a map from under the seat. Dean looked over at him, and huffed. "This is going to be a _long_ ride." Sam groaned at the implications, sliding back in his seat and rubbing his temples. Dean smiled.

"Oh, come on, Sammy! What's a little Foreigner going to do to you?" and with that, he pushed the left knob and "Cold as Ice" blared louder than either of the boys' would be able to shout over.

This was going to be a long trip.

_You're as cold as ice,_ Sam was close to turning the radio off at this point – this was the _third time_ they were listening to this, and Sam wanted to hit something. _You're willing to sacrifice our love. _He pressed his thumb deep into his gimp hand, and prayed that it was all a hallucination. A faint, _"Sorry, buddy, not this time,"_ echoed through his head. Great._  
_

And then came Dean's singing. Again. Now Sam _really_ wanted the radio off. As he was reaching towards the knob, he was stopped by a shocked "Whoa," coming from Dean.

Sam just pulled down the radio a bit, chuckling a bit when he saw the town ahead of him. Almost immediately afterwards, though, the laughter died, and Sam dove into his bag for his laptop, researching the internet as Dean pulled a newspaper in from a stand outside.

"'Entire Town Frozen, no movement in sight, freak prank, unhappy keepers of time' – here we go – 'Time seemed to speed up before stopping all together,'" Sam reported, looking up at Dean before continuing a moment later. "It just happened last night, apparently. Only one person wasn't affected – it says here that he packed up and moved to Nevada, instead. Poor guy."

Dean scoffed. "Alright, anything else happen overnight?" he looked over at Sam, who's eyes were glued to his screen, and went back to the sports section. "Whoa, okay, says here, 'in Middleton, Idaho, Time seemed to slow down – everybody was literally moving slower, as if pushing through the air was becoming more and more difficult. In the end, it stopped, just like this one," he paused to take another breath while Dean just stared at his brother, mind working to put the prices together. "And, just to top it all off, another disappearance happened over in Parma, Idaho. Whole group of people, on year apart, vanished into thin air."

"So, whatever's happening, we can assume that these two are connected, right? Like…mysterious vanishing and time stopping in every other town?" Dean said, his mind racing as he thought of any explanations for what had done this.

"'Next town' exactly," Sam replied, shifting the laptop to show all of the towns hit with whatever-this-thing-was.

"It's going in a line. You think something is following the 'Boise River' or whatever?" Dean said, and Sam gave a small huff to show he had no clue.

"Yeah, or it could be another Eve."

There was a small pause while Sam raced through the research, double-checking all of it.

"Nice song choice, by the way," Sam commented, attempting to hide a smirk.

"Glad you're finally coming to appreciate good music, Sammy," Dean said, putting down the newspaper and turning the Impala around, setting a course for the next town up from Parma.

That was when the world went black.

**Hm. Yeah, sorry about the cliff, it just kinda wrote itself...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and I _promise _Time Travel is next. Be patient. Still, tell me what you think!**

**R&R!**

**~IsomorphicTARDIS**


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